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Aug. 13, 2006 Here’s a bit of Super Bowl trivia: No team has ever played the Super Bowl in their home stadium. That includes the Miami Dolphins, who went to California to play in three of them. But South Florida is definitely no stranger to hosting one of the biggest spectacles in sports, and this year’s version of the Dolphins have a legitimate shot at breaking that string. The road that began in July with two-a-day practices will end at Dolphins Stadium in February with one team hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy as the champions of Super Bowl XLI. In Part IV of my NFL Season Preview, I’ll tell you which twelve teams I think will survive the regular season and who will eventually walk away with a really cool piece of hardware. AFC Playoff Outlook. It’s interesting to note that since the Dallas Cowboys won Super Bowl XXX, the AFC is 7-3 in Super Bowl competition. Denver and New England account for five of those seven victories, and the conference is currently on a three-game winning streak. So who will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl? Read closely my friends. AFC East Champion: Miami. A lot of folks like the Dolphins to win their first divisional title since 2000, and I’m one of them. Both Buffalo and the Jets are in the process of rebuilding their teams, and New England, though always capable of rebuilding themselves, may be running out of gas. AFC North Champion: Pittsburgh. Although Baltimore should be improved with Steve McNair at the helm, the main threat to the Steelers in this division is Cincinnati. And much of that will depend on whether or not Carson Palmer has fully recovered from the knee injury that took him out of the playoffs last season. AFC South Champion: Indianapolis. The Colts need to keep one team on their radar, and that’s the Jaguars. Jacksonville proved they can hang with the big boys last season, which means that the two games they face Indy may determine the division champion. And who’s going to bet against Peyton Manning? AFC West Champion: Kansas City. Dick Vermeil is gone, and the press corps won’t be the only folks who notice. Herman Edwards cut his teeth in the tough New York market with the Jets, and he’ll bring that toughness to the heartland. Even if the Chiefs don’t win the division, it’s pretty much a sure thing that Edwards won’t be crying on camera. Provided nothing happens to Trent Green, Kansas City is primed to win the West going away. AFC Wild Card Qualifiers: Denver and Jacksonville. These are two teams that could easily win their respective divisions, but only if they can get consistent offense throughout the season. Both of them will be in the hunt right up until the end of the season, but they won’t quite reach the top. Still, both of them can make some serious noise in the playoffs. AFC Wild Card Game #1: Denver (#6) at Kansas City (#3). This would be the rematch of the Thanksgiving night tilt these two teams are scheduled for. As good as Jake Plummer is, he has to prove that he can play mistake-free football on the road. In a place like Kansas City, that’s a tall order. Final Score: Kansas City 24, Denver 14 AFC Wild Card Game #2: Jacksonville (#5) at Pittsburgh (#4). When the Jaguars entered the NFL in 1995, they joined the Steelers in the AFC Central. This would be their first playoff meeting, and the offenses should be in high gear. The saving grace for Pittsburgh will be playing this game at Heinz Field, which is a nightmare for kickers. Final Score: Pittsburgh 38, Jacksonville 35 AFC Divisional Playoffs Game #1: Pittsburgh (#4) at Indianapolis (#1). The Steelers have won all five previous meetings against the Colts in the postseason. That includes last year’s 21-18 squeaker in the Divisional Playoffs in Indy. The bitter taste of that loss still sits in the mouths of the fans and the players, but that alone won’t be enough to guarantee victory. The Colts are a year wiser, a year smarter and a year better. Pittsburgh’s improbable reign as champions ends here. Final Score: Indianapolis 31, Pittsburgh 23 AFC Divisional Playoffs Game #2: Kansas City (#3) at Miami (#2). The Dolphins are 3-0 in the playoffs against the Chiefs. That includes a 27-24 overtime win on Christmas Day, 1971 that is still the longest game in NFL history. Kansas City has the horses to win this game, but the South Florida heat, and the Miami defense, will be too much. Final Score: Miami 24, Kansas City 20 AFC Championship Game: Miami at Indianapolis. Fortunately for the Dolphins, the Colts play in a dome. Otherwise, they wouldn’t stand a chance. The defense will give Peyton Manning fits, as well the offense, provided Duante Culpepper is running it. Miami will be in a prime position to win this game and return home to play the Super Bowl in front of a hometown crowd. Alas, that strange, goofy, home-team jinx will find a way to jump up and bite them, and at a most inopportune time. Final Score: Indianapolis 26, Miami 21 NFC Playoff Outlook. So who are the three NFC powers that have won Super Bowls in the last decade? The answers are Green Bay (Super Bowl XXXI), St. Louis (Super Bowl XXXIV) and Tampa Bay (Super Bowl XXXVII). None of those teams should expect to be headed to South Florida in February, unless of course they plan to be spectators. Here’s who I’m picking to head down the road to glory. NFC East Champion: New York Giants. The Giants could almost be considered division champions by default. I say “almost” because they’re really good enough to win this division going away. The Redskins will give them fits, though, because they’ve got the firepower to hang with them on both sides of the ball. LaVar Arrington will be the difference-maker, though. He will make Washington regret they let him walk. NFC North Champion: Chicago. Last year, Lovie Smith led the Bears to their first division title since 2001. They are the odds-on favorite to repeat in that role, mainly because they are the best team in a division that’s rebuilding itself. Detroit and Minnesota are both a couple years away from challenging, and Green Bay is still in the midst of planning Brett Favre’s farewell tour. Chicago fans should enjoy this run, because it won’t last forever. NFC South Champion: Carolina. No one is talking about the dreaded Sports Illustrated jinx. You know, the one where a team or player featured on the cover is bound to have something bad happen to them. In fact, I may be the first person in town to mention it. But the Panthers have nothing to fear, other than the Bucs and the Falcons. Look for them to dominate the conference this year and defy all that superstitious hokum. NFC West Champion: Seattle. Speaking of jinxes, running back Shaun Alexander might want to be extra careful this season. Alexander is this year’s Madden cover star. And the Madden jinx is just as pervasive as the SI jinx. It seems that since players replaced John Madden himself on the cover of the game, back in 2000, none of them has had a particularly stellar season that year. If the Seahawks have dreams of getting back to the Super Bowl for a second straight year, they better figure out a way to beat this jinx. NFC Wild Card Qualifiers: Atlanta and Washington. The Falcons and the Redskins had different fates last year. While the pundits were questioning whether Michael Vick was the real thing, old-timer Mark Brunell was leading his team to the playoffs. Realistically, Washington has the better chance of winning a division title, but Atlanta will give the rest of the NFC South all it can handle. NFC Wild Card Game #1: Washington (#5) at Chicago (#4). These two teams old-school squads have faced each other seven times in the post-season, dating back to 1937. The Redskins lead the series 4-3, but for them to increase that lead, they’ll need to do better than they did in last year’s win against the Bucs. They’ll have their hands full with the Bears. Whoever has the ball last, wins. Final Score: Washington 17, Chicago 14 NFC Wild Card Game #2: Atlanta (#6) at the New York Giants (#3). The Falcons aren’t a cold-weather team, but they’ve proven that they can play in cold weather. And the Meadowlands are notorious for being cold in January. The Giants’ faithful will be hoping for Eli Manning to be hot, so that they can travel to South Florida and get some sunshine in February. Final Score: New York Giants 23, Atlanta 17 NFC Divisional Playoff Game #1: Washington (#5) at Carolina (#1). Here’s something for you: The Panthers have never lost a playoff game at home. And here’s something else: The Panthers have never hosted the NFC Championship Game. Both those things are bad news for Washington, which, despite their previous successes against Carolina, will find themselves on the short end of this rematch. (The Panthers visit Washington in Week 12). Carolina, meanwhile, will look forward to a rematch from last year’s playoffs. Final Score: Carolina 28, Washington 21 NFC Divisional Playoff Game #2: New York Giants (#3) at Seattle (#2). Many feel that the Seahawks were the better team going into Super Bowl XL last February, and although they played well enough to win the game, the officials and karma were against them. It’ll be interesting to see this battle between All-Pro running backs Shaun Alexander and Tiki Barber. They will be the difference in this contest. Final Score: New York Giants 27, Seattle 23 NFC Championship Game: New York Giants at Carolina. Revenge will be on the minds of the G-men, after the Panthers shut them out 23-0 in the Wild Card round last year. The real wild card, though, will be wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, who left Dallas at the end of the last season. He’s already talked about his role on the team—to be a possession receiver and help Carolina get to the Super Bowl. Consider this mission accomplished. Final Score: Carolina 20, New York Giants 16 Super Bowl XLI: Indianapolis vs. Carolina. There would be a great deal of subtext to this match-up, and a great deal of firepower on the game’s biggest stage. The methodical Peyton Manning versus the gunslinging Jake Delhomme; the sure-and-steady Marvin Harrison versus the flashy-and-dazzling Steve Smith; the quiet and reserved Tony Dungy versus the vocal and emotional John Fox. The big difference is that Carolina has been here more recently, losing Super Bowl XXXVIII by just a field goal. Ironically, the Colts second and, to date, last Super Bowl appearance was the first one after the AFL-NFL merger, a win in a very ugly Super Bowl V, at the end of the 1970 season. That will mean all the difference in the world in this game. And the hero will be a kicker other than Adam Vinatieri. Final Score: Carolina 31, Indianapolis 28 As I did last season, I’ll provide playoff analysis each week beginning with Week 14. Playoff analysis will begin with Wild Card Weekend and lead all the way up to Super Bowl XLI. Summer’s almost over. I’m ready for some football! ------------ About the author: Claxton Graham has written over 100 articles for Useless Knowledge. He has also written the unpublished novels The Writer's Nightmare and Santa's Sleigh Is Missing. He works as a business analyst. Email: scifiwriter8502@email.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. 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